


Lemon-Lime Soda and Ginger Ale

by txgrerra



Category: BCU - Fandom, BCU - RPF, Bayaniserye Cinematic Universe, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral (2018)
Genre: I saw this prompt thing from Pinterest then I got inspired, M/M, Modern AU, i still can't write fanfics well damn, took me a week or so to finish though coz i was busy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:20:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25951279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/txgrerra/pseuds/txgrerra
Summary: It started out with a cruise and a prank. And some Shirley Gingers.
Relationships: Joaquin Alejandrino/Manuel Tinio
Kudos: 4





	1. To You, Five Years Ago

**Author's Note:**

> I was trying to find painting practices on my Pinterest but I got lost and ended up on "Imagine Your OTP" prompts. Then I saw this one prompt and I just had to write it. Well, attempt to write because I really can't write fanfics for the life of me. Anyway, enjoy?

Despite being in his twenties (well, mid-twenties), Joaquin Alejandrino was still monitored by his parents. Mostly, he attributes this to his mother, her Chinese blood and upbringing made for a stereotypical Asian mother who just has to be a security camera on her children. His father was more reasonable when it comes to his children’s freedom, but he went along with his wife’s style anyway.

Not that their actions weren’t well-founded. Out of all the siblings, Joaquin has always been a handful. Even as he grew up, he never lost the rambunctious streak that was the source of one too many headaches for his parents and older siblings. This is likely the reason why he ended up having his parents with him during this cruise.

He won the all-expenses paid cruise for three from his company’s Christmas Party raffle. Despite how his parents hovered over him all his life, he still took them to the cruise with him to spoil them.

That, and Mrs. Rosa Alejandrino did not want to leave her naughty son away from her for too long. She’s so thoroughly convinced that he’ll end up doing something insane if she doesn’t have contact with him for more than a day.

It’s sucky, but he’s lived with it. He resigned himself to just exploring the deck of the ship, the skies clear blue with white puffy clouds. The water that they were treading was calm, only disturbed by the movements of the vessel. There were quite some people going about as well, either enjoying the swimming pool, lounging on the benches or pool chairs, enjoying the deck bar, or just socializing with other passengers.

He sauntered over to the bar, hopping over one of its empty stools. He was seated just next to a man who seemed to be just around his age (handsome, too, and just a bit taller than he is) and the stranger’s friends. On the other side was another small group who were discussing their drinks.

“Hey, what can I get you?” the barista smiled at him. 

“Just a Shirley Ginger, thanks. Can’t drink while the sun is up,” he smiled back.

The barista chuckled and nodded at him, then started to make his drink. His phone buzzed in the meantime.

The message was another reminder from his mother to not wander off too far and to not make any reckless decisions without consulting her first. Rolling his eyes, he just replied with an affirmation and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.

Perfect timing, because the barista had just finished his drink. As soon as the man had set the glass down, however, the man beside Joaquin held on to the glass, as if by instinct, while talking to his friends. Joaquin just watched him, somewhat surprised (the barista at this time, too, was dumbfounded), as the stranger drank  _ his _ Shirley Ginger.

The moment the man had realized that the drink was sweet and had no trace of alcohol, he blinked. He turned to the barista, asking why he was given a mocktail, The barista shook his head and quickly explained that the drink was for the person beside him.

“Oh! I’m sorry!”

Joaquin just chuckled slightly. “It’s okay, I’ll just--”

“Let me replace this one I took from you. One more order of this, thanks!”

The barista only nodded with a smile and set off to make another one.

“Listen, man, I’m really sorry I took your drink. I thought the barista had made me another martini, but I wasn’t really paying attention.” The man had a sheepish look, which made this all the more amusing to Joaquin. He wasn’t offended by the clear mistake, of course, but he also wasn’t saying no to a free drink.

“No worries. I’m just glad that you didn’t get mad at the barista for the mix-up.”

The stranger laughed and shook his head. “Nah, I understand it if I was in the wrong. I worked cashier for a few months, and that changes you, you know. You get to be more sympathetic to people who operate behind the counter.”

Before Joaquin could reply, the stranger’s friends (two girls and three boys) had interjected in, noting that their friend had met someone new. One of the girls noted that Joaquin was really handsome with a boyish charm, and Joaquin could only smile sheepishly at that as he sipped at his newly-replaced drink.

The group introduced themselves, and it was then that Joaquin had learned of the stranger’s name. Manuel Tinio. He introduced himself as well, which made one of them ask if he was related to the wife of the Mayor of Manila. Joaquin confirmed that, yes, that was his eldest sister.

“So, what brings you here to the cruise, Joaquin?” the other girl asked.

He relayed his story, starting from winning the cruise trip from his company, to his mother’s hovering during the trip. After years of having to field people’s concern about his seemingly-overbearing mother, he’s learned how to keep the story about her light and almost of no concern.

“Huh, that sucks, dude,” one of the other boys commented. “You could be hooking up with people during this cruise if your mother wasn’t so much like a CCTV.”

He laughed, finding no offense in the observation. “Yeah, but if I did, she’ll probably still think that I was being too impulsive. Not that she’s not wrong, though. But seriously, thinking that I would marry someone just because I went on a week-long cruise?”

Joaquin blinked. As soon as the words left his mouth, his mind churned an idea. What if he “married” someone on the cruise, just to prank his mother?

(He’ll get an earful, he knows it, but honestly, it’ll be  _ worth it _ .)

“Hey,” he could hardly stop himself from forming a devious little grin, “what if I married someone here? Just a pretend wedding.”

The group blinked (Joaquin almost laughed at the synchronicity). Manuel suddenly started chuckling, before he started laughing. The rest of the group were all exclaiming in excitement, calling him a sneaky little devil as a compliment.

“We’re down for that! We can be bridesmaids and groomsmen! I’m excited! I’m so lucky I brought one of my good dresses along this trip! Oh, I would look so good with the wedding photos” one of the girls squealed.

“Hey, calm down, this is just pretend,” one of the boys chuckled. “But we do have to find someone who would be willing to go along with the prank, though.”

The other girl immediately pointed at Joaquin and Manuel -- who were both still seated on the stools. “Well, they could play the part! You guys could say that you bonded over Shirley Gingers, take a selfie as ‘proof’, then get married! Anyway, Manuel’s the only single one in our group.”

Manuel shrugged. “Well, I’m all up for messing with helicopter mothers, but you forgot to ask if Joaquin is even into men. For all we know, he’s straight as a flagpole.”

“Oh, right.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Joaquin laughed softly. “I swing all ways. Had a fair share of action, too.” he winked at Manuel.

Manuel laughed.

The day went on well, if Joaquin could say so himself. He hung out with the group (new friends) and got to know them more. They belonged to different fields but were all tight since college. He also got to learn more about Manuel, which was a dual effort to make a new friend and have enough “proof” of why he wants to “marry” him.

Surprisingly, he and Manuel had a lot in common. The younger man (Manuel) hailed from Nueva Ecija but frequented Ilocos Sur. Joaquin was sometimes in the area to surf, so they made a deal to hang out sometime soon. They were both employed, with Manuel in an IT firm and Joaquin in a multiventure company. Both had an inclination to be rebellious when necessary and were interested in the same music.

The night went on with more socializing. Somehow, they also got to roping in the ship captain to officiate their “wedding”, since, apparently, they can do that (according to the barista). The older man was more than happy to entertain their little prank and even had some of the crew start preparing the wedding for tomorrow night.

All that’s left was setting the stage with Joaquin’s parents.

As expected, Joaquin’s mother freaked incredulously during their breakfast with the “couple”. How could her son, whom she was looking after during the cruise, suddenly want to marry a man he just met!? Joaquin just shrugged and said that he found his soulmate, and that he connected with Manuel more in just one day than he ever did with his former partners.

Mr. Mariano Alejandrino caught on early. No way was Joaquin, who was a bright and cunning child, was really doing something as stupidly reckless as getting hitched to someone he just knew yesterday. This was a commitment that Joaquin would’ve taken years before considering. The idea of it being a prank for his wife became clearer with each minute that Rosa interrogated Manuel, and he just pretended to not have a single clue.

Joaquin got his cunning streak from someone, after all.

That afternoon, Joaquin set his Facebook status to “Engaged to Manuel Tinio”. He broke the “news” to his siblings (who had been informed of the prank) as well as his friends (whom he did not inform, just to keep the authenticity). Part of the deck was being arranged for a wedding.

“Nervous, my soon-to-be-husband?” Manuel smirked as he put on his best-looking formal-like clothes.

Joaquin laughed as he fixed up. “Kinda, my soon-to-be-husband. My mom will definitely throw me overboard for this prank.”

A laugh was wrenched out of Manuel as well. “I’ll just save you if you’re drowning. Now, c’mon, and let’s put the cherry on this prank.”

The fake wedding went without a hitch. Manuel’s friends shed tears, cheers, and toasts. Joaquin’s mom couldn’t believe everything, while his dad just made Manuel promise to not hurt his son. The people who joined them via videocall (the cruise had WiFi) were all happy and not the least bit suspicious. Joaquin’s siblings played along.

Per their agreement, Joaquin would reveal to his parents that it was all a prank the morning after their “honeymoon” (which was really just a sleepover). As expected, Joaquin’s mom shrieked, while his father found it amusing. Mrs. Alejandrino apologized to Manuel for her son’s idiocy, which Manuel tried to share the blame as he was complicit in it. 

Joaquin also had to field numerous calls from his friends, explaining the prank and how incredible it is that they all really believed that he would marry someone he just met.

It was a pretty eventful cruise, if he did say so himself.


	2. To You, Three Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to the two idiots who staged a wedding prank in the middle of a cruise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing much to say except,,,I have this weird idea that Joaquin would definitely try out vlogging for the hell of it. He's probably one of those people that stream games, too.

Joaquin chuckled to himself as the memory of that cruise faded. That was such a wild trip that he could still remember the exhilaration, the euphoria, the adrenaline of staging such an elaborate prank. Of course, after the events of the “wedding”, he had changed his status back to “single”. He did get to keep his friendship with Manuel and his friends, which was a great benefit of the whole prank.

His phone buzzed, and he wondered if thinking about Manuel summons the younger man. Shaking his head in amusement, he checked out his phone to see what’s up.

Right on cue, it’s a text from Manuel.

**_[FROM: Manuel] I’m in the area for a business meeting. Wanna grab a bite?_ **

In a span of a few years, both have moved up ranks in their respective jobs. Manuel had become a newly-minted Account Director, while Joaquin was made Assistant Director for Operations. Their schedules had become more tight, but whenever they were near each other’s workplace, they would have lunch or dinner out. They also hung around bars once a month with the rest of Manuel’s friends, along with some of Joaquin’s.

He texted his confirmation and informed his secretary of the plans. After signing some more papers and responding to emails, he locked his laptop, got his umbrella, and headed off to their usual hole-in-the-wall for a simple but filling lunch of adobo with rice.

Honestly, Joaquin was grateful that Manuel was a simple man with simple tastes, because Joaquin could strip away his “lifestyle” with him and just be a normal person. Keeping up sophistication and class can be tiring, and they’ve long agreed with that.

“So, was the meeting earlier or later?” Joaquin asked as he shoves a fork of meat in his mouth.

Manuel swallowed the rest of the food he was chewing on. “Earlier. We finished just before I texted you. The client wanted to have a formal alignment before they signed with our company.”

The older man chuckled. “Why wouldn’t they want to sign with your company? You guys are the best in the business. Thanks to you guys, our workflow’s been five times as fast.”

“And it secured your promotion, if I recall,” Manuel smirked.

Joaquin laughed at that. It was true, however; he was slated for a promotion as the COO’s second-in-command due to his supervisor’s recommendation, but the panel was still deliberating on it. His friendship with Manuel enabled him to suggest that they can switch vendors for their IT systems to a more one-stop company who can offer them more affordable rates. He personally oversaw the negotiations and finalizations of the partnership. The promotion was sealed soon after.

“I couldn’t have done it without you, still. You connected me to the right people and guided me through what your company wanted.”

Manuel shrugged a bit, though he was smiling. “You’re selling yourself too short, you know. I only told you who to talk to and what you could use. The rest was your own effort. The agreements that you laid out were impressive, to say the least.”

Joaquin can’t help but blush in embarrassment.

“Still can’t take a compliment?” the younger man asked, a smile playing on his lips. That had made Joaquin pout in indignation.

“You, of all people, should know that.”

Manuel barked out a laughter. He remembered when he first offered Joaquin a compliment -- it was about his stylish look -- and the older man burst into a bright blush and stammered on his words. For some reason, he always felt shy when he’s being praised.

“It’s still cute. I love that about you.”

Exactly a year after their cruise “wedding”, they started dating. A year after they started dating, they formally entered a relationship. And tonight was their anniversary.

“I love you, too.” Joaquin mumbled.

Manuel blinked. When they began dating, Joaquin was adamant about not saying ‘I love you’, since he said that it carried such a strong meaning and emotion, and he preferred saying ‘like’ instead. He would only say ‘love’ if he was sure of his feelings for Manuel. If he was ready to take the next step forward. He had only said it once, when Joaquin agreed to be more than just a date and become his boyfriend.

Did he hear Joaquin right? 

“Did you--”

Joaquin turned away, hiding just how red his face was. With an indignant voice, he insisted that he’ll repeat himself later, once they’re off work. Embarrassed as ever, it seems.

After a few moments, Manuel just scoffed in amusement. A few hours more wouldn’t hurt to hear it, he supposed. 

Nightfall came and they were off. Joaquin fetched Manuel from the office building where he went for the client meeting. They drove by one of their favorite roadside eateries to get some food on the way home (they were both feeling too lazy to cook), which they immediately set on their table as soon as they got home to their condo.

“Oh yeah,” Manuel nonchalantly called out as he pulled over a much comfier shirt over his head. “Vicente found his video of our wedding prank from three years ago. I had him do some quick edits so it could look a bit more ‘official’. Wanna watch?”

Joaquin laughed at the memory of the aforementioned event. Belatedly, he mused at how that whole prank had set them both on this path as lovers. “Sure. Let’s record it like a vlog, is that okay?”

The older man had somehow picked up a weird hobby to sometimes pretend like he’s a YouTube vlogger. Not that Manuel minds. In fact, he finds it amusing to watch their videos again when Joaquin posts it. Their audience of friends and family find it hilarious as well.

“That’s fine with me. But we should eat first.”

Dinner was as casual as it can be. Work wasn’t really anywhere near their conversation -- they’ve developed the habit of not talking about it that much while eating supper, so instead they talk about their family or friends or anything else under the sun. Tonight was all about their plans for a concert that their favorite band had just announced earlier in the day.

Joaquin skittered around after dinner, trying to get his ring light and camera set up. Meanwhile, Manuel had humored him by doing the dishes himself.

“Hey, everyone!” Joaquin started with his normal cheery vlogging voice. “Welcome back to our vlog! Today, we’ll be doing something quite special.”

He then started on a spiel about how he and Manuel met, with the younger man supplying the other details that Joaquin might’ve missed. How their prank started, how they went on about it, and what happened after the fake wedding.

“Now, one of our friends did manage to save his copy of our ‘wedding’ video, and my boyfriend right here asked them to edit it so we could have something ‘official’ from that event. Without further ado, our ‘wedding’!”

He played the video on his laptop, Manuel knowingly watching beside him. The video started out as normal as possible, with the camera capturing the guests and Manuel’s friends trying so hard to stay in character. Manuel was talking to the captain, which only lasted for a couple of minutes before the bridal march played and Joaquin started walking down the aisle.

As the video went on, Joaquin and Manuel gave their own commentary on what was happening. They even paused and rewound parts of the clips if they spotted something peculiar or hilarious in the background.

The last scene of their ‘wedding’ was about to end, but just as soon as it did, the video cut to a stray clip from Manuel, apparently taken just a few days ago judging by his dark blue button-up that he wore last week. He was sitting on the black couch of their living room -- the same one that they were sitting on right now -- with the sunlight illuminating the clip.

_ “Hi, Joaquin. We’d probably be at home, watching this video right now. The reason why I had this clip of my talking inserted here is because there’s something I’d like to say to you. You and I met in the weirdest circumstances ever, and the days, weeks, months, and years that passed after that cruise have been the most exciting time of my life so far.” _

_ “I can’t imagine any one of those days not being with you. We had arguments in the past, we had difficult days, but I’m so happy that we stayed strong, stayed together, and stayed in love despite all of those. I chose you every day during these past three years, and I will continue choosing you from here on out. I hope you can do the same. I guess I’ll know the answer to that once you answer this simple question of mine--” _

“Will you marry me, for real this time?” 

It took Joaquin a few seconds to process what Manuel said and the ring he had taken out from the box in his pocket. It took him a minute to stop sobbing his heart out as he hugged his boyfriend tightly, choking out a ‘Yes’ and an ‘I love you’ over and over with his shaking voice.

His tear-streaked, scrunched-up, red face was still recorded on their camera as Manuel slipped the engagement ring on his finger, which only prompted him to cry more. Even the younger man couldn’t help but let a few tears of happiness slip from his wet eyes.

Needless to say, the comments section, their inboxes, and the views of the vlog exploded when they uploaded it. But those were all inconsequential to the future that they were about to have, together, forever.

And it all started with a Shirley Gingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've stuck with this mess until the end, thank you so much! Just to clarify: Shirley Ginger is a bit like Shirley Temple, but I think it has a more noticeable sweet-spicy ginger taste than the normal variant.

**Author's Note:**

> Do not try this at home, though; Asian helicopter moms are scary to mess with.


End file.
